Chapter 157 (Chapter 157) - Changing the Location (Chapter 157)...

Chapter 157 Changing Location

“Of course I know you can’t change their minds,” Lu Xiaofeng knew this. “I’m hoping you can change the location of their duel.”

Ling Hao asked instinctively, "Why change the location?"

Lu Xiaofeng gave Gongzi Yu a long, meaningful look, and then asked in return, "What do you think?"

Why change the location? Isn't that obvious enough? Naturally, it's because the original location was far too dangerous, easily leading to the deaths of both Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng. Don't think he didn't know; that's exactly how Wu Ming met his end.

Although the emperor still felt she had few capable subordinates, this was merely her perception. In reality, anyone who knew the inside story held her and the palace in awe. Entering and leaving the palace at will as before was absolutely impossible.

Wu Ming, though not well-known in the martial arts world, was a figure whose skill was renowned among those who knew him. How could such a man have died so quietly in the palace? Did they really think they could gain anything from there?

Because Lu Xiaofeng was friends with Ling Hao, she knew more about him and understood even more how cunning the woman in the palace was. She had calculated everything, and just watched as Wu Ming stepped in and lost his life.

Yes, Lu Xiaofeng knew that Ximen's martial arts skills were indeed strong enough, but he wasn't the strongest in the martial arts world. Moreover, he was straightforward and honest, and scheming was not his forte. If he also fell into the emperor's trap, he certainly wouldn't survive.

The thought of this gave Lu Xiaofeng a headache. He could barely accept that Ximen died because he lost a sword fight, but he couldn't accept that he died because he couldn't outmaneuver someone. Therefore, Lu Xiaofeng hoped that the location of the duel between Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng could be changed.

A showdown atop the Forbidden City—was it because he felt the Emperor was too magnanimous, and wanted to dance on her head? Heh, Lu Xiaofeng thought it best to avoid it. But he couldn't persuade Ximen Chuixue no matter what he did, because the other party believed that the agreement with Ye Gucheng couldn't be changed, otherwise it would be a breach of trust.

Breaking his promise goes against Ximen Chuixue's principles; he would never do such a thing.

So Lu Xiaofeng went to find Ye Gucheng, but Ye Gucheng also disagreed. He said that the request to change the location had to be made by Ximen Chuixue, otherwise he wouldn't change it. Lu Xiaofeng immediately felt a headache coming on. If he could persuade Ximen Chuixue, he wouldn't have gone to Ye Gucheng.

But neither of them agreed; each was more stubborn and inflexible than the other, and Lu Xiaofeng tried everything to persuade them, but to no avail. Helpless, it was all in vain.

At this time, Lu Xiaofeng learned that Linghao had returned to the capital, so he decided to come and find them. Linghao was the emperor's acknowledged sister-in-law; surely she could find a way?

Ling Hao, on whom Lu Xiaofeng had placed high hopes: "???"

She looked at Lu Xiaofeng with a puzzled expression. What had given him the illusion that he was capable of handling this matter? "Lu Xiaofeng."

"Here." For some reason, Lu Xiaofeng suddenly sat up straight, his whole body tense.

Linghao pointed at herself with a puzzled look, "How do you think I could convince those two to change their minds? I don't even know them."

"No, I didn't ask you to persuade them to change their minds." Lu Xiaofeng waved his hand. "They're just two blockheads, you can't persuade them." Even someone as eloquent as him couldn't convince them, so Ling Hao would definitely be even less likely to be persuaded.

"If that's the case, why did you come to me? To complain?" Ling Hao said.

Lu Xiaofeng said matter-of-factly, "You can't persuade Ximen and Ye Gucheng, but you can persuade the Emperor. Aren't you her future sister-in-law?"

Upon hearing the word "sister-in-law," Gongzi Yu, whose expression had been rather unpleasant—because Lu Xiaofeng had taken up Ling Hao's time—soothed a lot. Although Lu Xiaofeng was a very annoying person, he could sometimes speak quite nicely, like now.

"What does this have to do with the Emperor?" Ling Hao asked, puzzled.

"Go and talk to the Emperor and ask him to send troops to guard the palace and not allow outsiders to enter at will, okay?" Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Ling Hao looked at Lu Xiaofeng with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot. "The palace is heavily guarded." He was joking. If the palace wasn't guarded, wouldn't anyone be able to come and go as they pleased? Especially since this is a martial arts world, people in the martial arts world love to come and go in places that most people can't go, because it makes them look very powerful, and the palace is one of them.

Honestly, Linghao is starting to wonder if the palace has become some kind of tourist attraction. Why do all the martial arts figures with any reputation have to make a trip to the palace? I don't understand.

“But those people couldn’t stop Ximen and Ye Gucheng.” Lu Xiaofeng sighed. “If they couldn’t stop them, that would be one thing, but there are other people in the palace.” Those people were trained by the emperor to deal with martial arts masters. Once a martial arts master casually enters the palace, those people will take action.

Ling Hao then understood Lu Xiaofeng's implication. "So that's why. You should have said so sooner." She was so focused on whether Ye Gucheng had cooperated with the Prince of Nan and whether he also wanted to rebel that she hadn't thought of this matter at all.

Lu Xiaofeng: "..."

It turns out she hadn't remembered at all; this friend seems pretty unreliable.

"Actually, your focus isn't on them changing the location, but on wanting the Emperor not to take action against Master Ximen, right?" Ling Hao said with a smile.

"Yes, you have a way?"

"Of course."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaofeng's eyes lit up immediately. "How do I do it?"

Ling laughed, "You just need to cooperate with the Emperor."

"Cooperate with the Emperor?" Now it was Lu Xiaofeng's turn to point at himself in confusion. "What does the Emperor need me to cooperate with? Linghao, you're not lying to me, are you?"

"Whether it is or not, you'll know once you meet the Emperor," Ling Hao said with a smile. "Anyway, you're not a wanted criminal, and you haven't done anything wrong. Even if you meet the Emperor, you won't be arrested, and nothing will happen to you. It won't matter if you meet him, right?"

Lu Xiaofeng remained silent. He couldn't deny that Ling Hao was right; he was indeed not afraid to see the emperor. He just didn't understand what use he was to the emperor, but for his friend's sake, he didn't mind taking the trip. "Alright, I'll listen to you."

Ling chuckled and patted Lu Xiaofeng on the shoulder, "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Lu Xiaofeng gave Ling Hao a resentful look. "It would be best if that were the case." Although he believed he had a clear conscience, he still didn't like dealing with the people in the court, or rather, he didn't want to get involved in those court struggles.

It's said that江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) people kill without mercy, but the struggles in the imperial court result in far more deaths and implicate many others. Lu Xiaofeng has never been fond of this. However, for Ximen's sake, he'll go through with it.

Seeing Lu Xiaofeng's uncomfortable expression, like a wild horse being saddled, Ling Hao burst out laughing. "Oh, how should I put it," she said, "I just found it hilarious, hahaha."

Lu Xiaofeng: "..."

He said there must be something wrong with how he makes friends; his friends are either bad influences or malicious friends, either wanting to see him humiliated or wanting him dead. Sigh, why is his life so miserable?

Lu Xiaofeng's indescribable expression made Ling Hao laugh even louder, and even Gongzi Yu laughed along with him.

Lu Xiaofeng remained silent. What could he say? Since he had nothing to say, he decided to say nothing.

Hehe, I'm tired.

After Lu Xiaofeng left, Gongzi Yu looked at Ling Hao and said, "What use is Lu Xiaofeng? To send him to assassinate the Prince of Nan?"

“Of course not.” Ling Hao shook her head with a smile. “What are you thinking? Lu Xiaofeng going to assassinate the Prince of Nan? I might as well go instead.” She doesn’t kill people, so that statement is invalid. “The Emperor is interested in Lu Xiaofeng, or rather, interested in his experiences, so he wants to meet him. As for the cooperation the Emperor mentioned, I’m not too clear on the details.”

But she thought it must still be related to the Southern King, or more precisely, to Ye Gucheng? Using江湖人 (jianghu people) against 江湖人—that was probably the emperor's idea. Although the Sun Moon Sect was about to fall into her hands, it wasn't fully under her control yet, so she was still short-handed.

Lu Xiaofeng was a capable man, and also a very lucky one. Sometimes, success requires everything else, except for a little bit of luck, and that's exactly the kind of luck the emperor wanted.

On the other hand, Linghao actually thinks the emperor is the one with the greatest luck, right? She knows about Gong Jiu's affairs, she knows about Wu Ming's affairs, she knows about the alliance between the Prince of Nan and Ye Gucheng, and she even knows what's behind this decisive battle.

Ling Hao thought to herself, "The emperor always says he doesn't have enough people. Could it be because she has sent out too many people?" Perhaps the people under A Yu's command are only a portion, not all of them. His people are only in the martial arts world, while the emperor's people are both inside and outside the court. That's why the emperor is able to know so much information.

“You and my sister talked a lot without my knowledge,” Gongzi Yu said quietly.

It was clearly his Ah Hao, but his older sister had sent him away and whispered to Ah Hao for quite a while. Even though he had shaken off his master and the others, why were so many people still taking up Ah Hao's time and attention? Gongzi Yu was unhappy.

Ling laughed and reached out to poke Gongzi Yu's forehead. "Someone is too jealous. The Emperor is your elder sister, and you're jealous about that?" Sometimes she felt that he was a jealous person, always emanating a sour smell.

"No one can take Ah Hao from me, not even my sister." Not even another version of him, let alone anyone else. Gongzi Yu thought to himself.

Ling laughed, "Then I'll keep an eye on Ayu more often from now on, okay?"

“Okay.” Gongzi Yu actually wanted to ask if he could just look at him, but he knew that was impossible, so he had to change his answer.

[Heh, if Ah Hao knew what you did to me, you're dead meat.]

[Young Master Yu, you bastard, either let me out, or I'll kill you sooner or later.]

Gongzi Yu clutched his chest, but smiled gently at Ling Hao. [Kill me? All you can do is shout. In time, I'll wear you down, and you'll never see Ahao again. She's mine, and only mine.]

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Author's Note: [Kiss][Kiss][Kiss]